We recently worked with a third-party survey vendor to interview contact center leaders and how they are responding to economic uncertainty in 2023. We hope you find this report helpful as we all navigate the economic turbulence in 2023.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- State of the Contact Center
- Real-Time AI Promises Hope Amid Uncertainty
- Leaders Unlocking Real ROI with Artificial Intelligence
- What's Next for Contact Centers in 2023
- Demographics and Methodology
- About Observe.AI
Introduction
In 2023, the winners will be those who adapt to change the fastest. Why? In my (Swapnil Jain, CEO & Co-Founder of Observe.AI) conversations with business leaders, I’ve noticed a common theme: They just can’t keep up with the pace of change. There’s too much happening. Leaders aren’t able to get the information they need quick enough to benefit their company.
By the time they extract and distribute insights, the entire business landscape has changed and it’s on to the next crisis.The pace of change is a problem for every business all the way to the CEO. Nearly two-thirds of CEOs told KPMG they felt their processes and execution were too slow, while around 50% of contact center leaders said they feel unprepared for the future, according to our own study. The ability to move fast—with confidence backed by real world data—is a strategic advantage.
How Business Leaders Are Responding
So what are executives doing about it?
According to Deloitte’s 2022 CEO Survey, 91% of executives plan to invest in AI because they expect AI to accelerate intelligent insights and improve decision making. And this is true for contact centers too: Our survey of over 300 contact center leaders revealed that 88% are turning to AI and automation to improve efficiency and help with decision making.
Moreover, 99% of respondents are harvesting insights specifically from customer conversations to inform business decisions that often go beyond the contact center to impact operations, marketing, product, logistics, and more. Making decisions based on guesswork is no longer going to cut it. It’s all about the data. More specifically, it’s about data from the front lines. What are customers actually saying? How are customers actually feeling? For contact center leaders, this is good news, because this is data you already have. You just need to unlock it fast enough to take action.
Keeping Up With The Pace of Change
Speed is critical across the business, but especially for contact centers. Measurable change happens when leaders can synthesize and distribute information back to the front lines quickly. This is one of the reasons we’re seeing strong interest and investment in solutions that provide agent guidance in real time. Despite budget cuts, nearly 40% of contact center leaders plan to invest in real-time AI technology to improve customer retention and sales.
Those already using real-time AI have seen improvements in customer experience, revenue, operational efficiency, and compliance. Though investing during uncertainty may seem risky, one thing is clear: There’s never been a more important time to know what’s happening with your business and be able to take action on it. Those able to do it the fastest will have the upper hand.
Onward and upward,
Swapnil Jain
CEO & Co-Founder, Observe.AI
State of the Contact Center
Contact Centers Feeling Economic Uncertainty
Nearly every business took a hit during the economic rollercoaster of 2022—and the contact center industry was no different. 75% of respondents agreed that economic instability over the past year had impacted their contact center operations.
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